Typically, medical articles are stored in a sterile condition. Most packaging for medical articles are designed mainly with focus on maintaining the sterility and protecting the article, e.g. from sun light, rough handling, or transportation.
In some packages, a certain opening procedure is implicit in the package design. As an example, it has become practise to pack medical items between two sheets of a foil material. When such packages are opened, the medical article is partly or completely exposed and can therefore be contaminated.
With respect to catheters, e.g. for urinary catheterisation, numerous attempts have been made to make opening easier, and to ensure a minimum exposure of the article in question. In particular, attempts have been made to avoid contamination of critical areas of the catheter such as the tip portion which is Inserted into the body during use. Accordingly, packages exist which facilitate use of a catheter without having completely to remove the catheter from the package. Sometimes, the package serves for manipulating the article without direct contact between the hands of the user and the catheter, and sometimes, the package includes a handling structure enabling non-contaminating removal and use of the article in question.
Even though existing packages may improve handling of medical articles by keeping the users hands away from critical areas, the risk of contamination still exist, e.g. due to the risk of coming into contact with surrounding objects during handling of the article.
Catheters for draining the bladder are used for intermittent as well as indwelling or permanent catheterisation. Typically, catheters are used by patients suffering from urinary retention, e.g. para- or tetraplegics who may have no control permitting voluntary urination. If the user suffers from reduced dexterity, removal of a catheter from a package may be further complicated. For supporting handling of medical articles, some packaging comprises suspension means, e.g. adhesives or through holes for suspending the packaging on a wall, e.g. of a restroom. In this case, the opening into the packaging becomes directly adjacent the wall, and the article may thus easily come in contact with the wall during removal of the article from the packaging.